general ? about rearends

has anybody in here put in a used ring and pinion,i know all about backlash etc,but have never put in a used set only new,what too look out for,what was the out come of yours if you have done it etc,i defenitly know its a matched set,since i bought the whole jeep with approk 50 something k on the speedo,avel housing is bad,worse than what i thought beyond repair,basically what i want to do is put the "guts"into another housing,and maybe swap the ring gear to the carrier out of the good housing,going to try and keep all bearings matched up with there races

 

I've done it several times. If you can measure pinion depth in the old housing, you can duplicate that in the new housing. Jeg's has a $99 pinion depth checker made by proform.

I've also done it by just pulling guts from one, putting it in the other, and hope for the best. I got 50k miles out of one truck twelve bolt that way.

IMO, if you don't have or want differential experience along with $1000+ worth of tools, your best bet will be to buy a complete used axle assembly and bolt it in.

 

the bigest thing i was concearned with is the wear patteren,on a new set of gears there is no wear pattern already established,with a used set up the wear patteren is there and you arent gonna be able to match it back up perfect,may be just as well off to buy a new set of gears and just re gear the good 44 to what i want

 

I'm in the process of putting in a used r&p but having a hard time with the pattern. Drive side is good, but no matter what the pinion depth, I can't get the pattern on the coast side to move. It's centered in the tooth but heavy on the toe. Been messin with it for a few weeks now.:?

 

I have a used set of gears I installed in my dana 30.
Just like Patrick said make sure the pattern is good.

 

dont know what to tell you on that one,i was supprised to find there are no shims at the carrier bearings,thanx guys, so putting in a used set is no more a pita than a new set. can i expect to get the same life span out of a used set? this jeep will be lucky to see 60000 miles in my life time,that is an additonal 60000 to whats on the odemeter,un less i really start to like driving it,never had one of these on the hard top

 

as the others said, if it's set up correctly and maintained it should last the life of the Jeep.

 

well thats what i wanted to here,and save me a few bucks as well,just wish i could use the bigger axels as well,but i dont think the smaller ones will give me any grief with a F-4

 

I always use a used set for the front lot less use.

 

Randy's R&P has some good info with their gear sets. He talks about used gear installation and says ignore one of them... I don't remember if it was drive or coast! They probably have the same info on their website.

Unless you are looking at an unusual ratio setup, a used diff in good shape will be the most cost effective way to go.

A new R&P ($145), 10 spline LockRight ($310), installation kit ($130-more expensive for the early 44), axle bearings ($45), shim kit ($10), seals, paint, grease, oil, yoke ($40-new R&P is 26 spline not 10), and misc. put me back $700. And I have all the tools and experience doing this. Don't forget the 5 or 6 hours of time in cleaning the housing, setting up the gears, shimming the axles and re-installing. I could have cut the price in 1/2 without the LockRight, but what fun would that be. R)

 

Just a question but was the axle bent in some way to render it unusable? If it was bent was it run after it was bent. I bought a used D44 front that had been tweeked more than I thought and the gears showed the uneven wear from the bent housing. Might want to look at that when you inspect the gears from yours.

Todd

 

no not bent rusted thru,was gonna use the whole thing,but seeing how i have 3 sets of rears,i am trying to make what i got work,nothing wrong with the rear i am re gearing,just want the 4.27 ratio insted of 5.38's